Sassypickin's Van

[sassypickins]

@KayakGirl ~ Thanks so much! I still have electrical ahead of me and that will be a huge challenge, but for now, I'm tickled pink with the function and comforts.

WINDOW COVERINGS AND CURTAINS

I decided not to do curtains for the side windows. When it's cold or dark I just pop in the reflectix, which I bought in the 48" height to make sure I could cover all the windows adequately. I cut each piece a little larger than the actual window measurements. Each just fits into the window frame, and some of the window frames have a channel inside that makes it really easy to secure the reflectix nicely.



Most of the windows already are tinted, and I bought some window tint for the rear and front sides.


I wanted curtains to pull across the back doors, one for mid-cabin, and another to separate the cab from the house -- not for stealth, just to block the cold and provide some privacy. The van roofline sure came in handy for these! I had a few/bought a few tension curtain rods. These can be set to the desired length with a screwdriver. I found some cafe curtain hooks - cheap and easy to move along the curtain rod. I may end up sewing rod pockets up there instead. That way I can extend the material up above the curtain rods to better retain heat.

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CURTAINS (cont'd)

The center privacy curtain is nice to have and ties back easily. I can walk under it but hubby has to duck. Eventually I'll have a flat bar curtain rod up there that will curve and hug the ceiling so he won't bonk his head.



I had a lot of red material around the house - a tablecloth, a lap blanket, odds and ends - so I decided to use them for curtains, why not? We're definitely seeing red in there, though! I put two in the back, one just for a bit of privacy and the 2nd for warmth. I'll put a rod pocket in that 2nd one...later.


I also had a sheer white curtain so I added that up front in addition to the other one -- just for a bit of privacy but that still lets a lot of light in. And, I discovered that was a perfect place to store my tent poles, across the roofline.


Next up:
HEAT AND VENTILATION

 

[sassypickins]

HEAT AND VENTILATION

For now I'm using just windows for air flow until I get my house battery system figured out. I scored a Fantastic Endless Breeze 12v fan on Craigslist I can't wait to use, though!


I also found a brand new Mr. Buddy heater on Craigslist for a great price. I figured I'd better play it safe and fire it up outside for the first time, since I wasn't familiar with it. But no worries, the auto ignition started it right up.

In the van, the heat from it radiates directly out to the front, and then up. The sides and the back are completely cool - no heat there to worry about. It has a tip-over safety shut off. I set it by the back doors where air comes in from along the bottom seam where the weep holes are.


That seems to be enough oxygen for it, and to maintain the airflow I open each front window about 1/2". Each has a rainguard so I don't have to worry about rain coming in.


I can also adjust the ventilation with the middle sliding window, and open that when I set the heater closer to the front.


I have a CO detector to install.

As far as warmth in the van, wow --this little heater puts it out. I guess I insulated well enough for my part of the world, because it only takes a few minutes for it to get warm even for the tootsies. I can relate to those who have opted for a thermostatically controlled heater. With this little guy, I guess I will look at getting up to turn it on and off as great exercise...

I'm kind of thinking I should put in a roof vent/fan but I'll wait to see how the endless breeze fan does.

In summer, I'll have screens I'm making from mosquito netting I got online. I've made one so far. It's bordered in white duct tape folded over, with tiny magnets placed every 6" or so and I couldn't figure out how to not go around the mirror so I did. I am keeping my eye out for a couple of long zippers for the doors, but there's that sewing stuff again; trying to avoid that avenue. :s


Next up:

STORAGE

 

[Suanne]

Wow Sassy! You are doing great work. Thanks for showing us how it's coming together, step by step. I hope you make it to the RTR so I can see your handiwork in person.

 

[Vic.]

It looks like a nice place to live. Great work!

 

[janncoo]

Thanks Sassy for all the great info and pics. Just love to look at van redo pics. Hope we make it to the RTR so I can see your wonderful home on wheels Jan

 

[Luisafernandes]

WALL COVERING - SORT OF

Before you get to laughing too hard at my walls... ok, too late, I see...

Well, to help stick to my budget, I reused the white vinyl stuff that was already on the walls when I bought the van. Now the guy who did the work used about ten zillion little metal screws to put this stuff up, so there were ten zillion little holes to deal with. Since his holes weren't going to match MY holes, I decided to just run a row of nice white duct tape over HIS holes and call it good. So that is why you see all the white duct tape.

You wouldn't want to see a photo of me trying to hold up this 8' long sheet of vinyl, trying to get a screw started, and hoping it was going to be in the right place. After a few misses, I got one up in a corner and worked my way down the top ridge. I only guesstimated that it would hang down square enough and after some readjustments, it did.


I used some spray adhesive on the back first and pressed it onto the Polyiso foamboard behind. It stuck great....for about 15 minutes. I didn't want to build T-braces and wait overnight, so I was glad it stuck at least long enough for me to finish screwing the vinyl through the insulation to the frame along the next horizontal row. I'm calling it a success. The fact that the vinyl hangs loosely there in the 'between' area doesn't bother me and it doesn't seem to bother the van either.


Then I found white plastic (geez, more plastic) chain link fencing strips from the big box store and added those over the seams.


I still need to run some more white tape over the screws I put in, and figure how to finish off the edges here and there. Oh, and put up the last of the vinyl sheeting on the doors. Then it will truly be a work of art!


I'll eventually put in a wooden window jamb and trim around this window, and a long box big enough to hold some sprouting jars and maybe an herb plant or two.


This work was done 6 months ago, and the walls and tape are holding up well.

This is the Vinyl and I did end up buying one sheet to finish up with.

Next up:

FLOORING

I looked at this same type of vinyl for my walls and ceiling before realizing that it needed to be applied with adhesive. Not wanting to risk it I went with 1/4 plywood.
I hope it holds up for you [emoji5]️[emoji106]

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Thanks, Seraphim, Bob and GypsySilver!

FLOORING

The van floor was already started when I bought it. There's a layer of foam underlayment, then 3/4" plywood. I didn't photo it, but I did fill in all the gaps at the edges of the plywood with bits of polyiso, just slicing pieces to fit with my utility knife. Then I taped over it all with silver tape.


I saved and reused all the carpet that had been laid in over the bed platform.


I can't believe it, but I managed to use every last bit of it on the floor. It was like a jigsaw puzzle at the end LOL.


Then I glued it all down with carpet adhesive and let it dry overnight.


Then, I laid down another layer of foam underlayment, this being sealed and functional as a vapor barrier and water stopper for those inevitable spills down the road.


I had enough laminate flooring left over from my house project to use in the van. I know it's not the best option, but at this point it was free. The van floor is not perfectly rectangular, so after working a few rows in, I could slide the grouping around a little to create a good enough looking run. I chose to make the run lengthwise rather than across to minimize the cuts. I liked that it all snapped in place and I used no glue.


I reused the metal edges that the previous owner had screwed down over his rubber flooring mat. (At first I thought was it was that aluminum diamond plate stuff but it was rubber - very neat stuff and I'm giving it to helinwheels for her rig). And, I had some roof drip edge around so I used that along the floor at the back door and just screwed it down over the flooring into the plywood.

Overall, the floor looks nice, is super easy to clean, allows bins to slide easily (almost too easy ha!) and I can put down little rubber backed rugs to keep my feet warmer if I want to.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Next up:
WHERE TO PUT ALL THESE PLASTIC DRAWERS?

Sassy, [emoji33] I don't mean to disappoint you...and I hope I'm very wrong but, using the carpet under the wood floor might be a very bad idea. Carpet will absorb moisture and will become a cozy home for all kinds of nasty things. [emoji17]

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KITCHEN STORAGE

Based on what I needed to store and where it might best fit, and considering weight distribution and ease-of-use, I decided to use plastic drawers, not because I love plastic, but because I had some in the house and knew how lightweight they were. I scrounged up others from garage sales and craigslist for $3 to $5 each. I also scored a little cupboard at a thrift store for $5 that I thought might work for the sink. I knew I wanted a couple of the shallow drawer sets for all the kitchen utensils and all those little things that help with cooking and food storage.

I had an idea from my measurements and paper planning that I could get a certain configuration of drawers to work on the passenger side and after propping everything up to take a look, I confirmed it would work.


I used one of the sides of the sink cabinet that was in the van when I bought it, and part of the bed platform, and fashioned a kitchen countertop. It got glued and screwed and fastened to the van frame with L-brackets.


The drawers are screwed to two horizontal 1 x 2 nailers I installed behind them into the van frame. I used washers between the screw heads and the plastic to help keep the plastic from ripping. Then I splurged on a roll of black sticky-backed shelf liner and worked in ultra-slow motion to get it to go up the side and over the top of the kitchen counter smoothly.


My stainless steel salad bowl sacrificed itself with a little help from PatSchum to become my sink. This jug underneath is not the final gray water tank; it was too flimsy. And I have switched to a smaller, more rigid water container for the counter and when parked, I put it on top of a small drawer unit there at the end. It has a spigot and it does the job. I will make some shelves under there as the need unfolds.


I have not done anything in the top half of my van yet. I don't really want to start screwing holes in the hi-top, so I'm playing around with some ways to get screw-free storage up there.

Next up:

WHERE TO SLEEP?

To utilize the top end you could adhere-for example-3/4 by 1 1/2 poplar strips on all four sides, pressing them together tight so they stay in place just by pressure and then you can screw things like cabinets into it.

 

[Luisafernandes]

I had made mention on my build thread regarding if you were a miss, Mrs or even a she: please disregard that. I had forgotten [emoji33]
Which brings me back to this issue; if you are married -assuming you are- why have separate beds? It's none of my business, but if the problem is space, maybe you could do something like this;

It's a quick sketch I just did, in part utilizing the system you already have. Half of the bed would slide on rails from under the other one. The legs would be foldable so that when it comes completely out you can extend them and both beds would be at the same height, in essence they would become one bed. You could also latch them together so as not to move.
Just a thought [emoji6][emoji106][emoji56]

 

[cyndi]

Sassy! You've done a great job of designing and building your home. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!

 

[karl]

Really like what you've done.
Thanks for documenting and sharing, that is my weak area.
Oh. and I like red, it's considered a "power color" in some circles.

 

[sassypickins]

@Suanne ~ thanks! I am looking forward to making the trip to RTR and to meeting you and others there.
@Vic ~ thanks very much. It's all new to me, so I'll just have to see if it holds up and is functional.
@janncoo ~ me, too, I find them inspiring, but then I'm at that stage, so all the more so. I hope to meet you, if not at RTR, another day in a wonderful spot under the sky!
@Luis ~ forgot to tell you that yes, we can stand upright in this van. About that vinyl, since I screwed it all along the top and middle and bottom, no worries about it being loose.

About the carpet....it's over the plywood, which is over a flooring underlayment and then there's another flooring underlayment over the carpet and then there's the laminate floor. I knew it was pretty goofy, but I was just using whatever I had to try to create warmth. You may well be right about moisture - it's totally a synthetic and maybe 1/4" thick, does that help at all? Hmmmm, well, it will be easy enough to pull up a strip of flooring and take a peak under there after a while. I kind of think the flooring will bust up first. Plus, since heat rises, wouldn't the floor be the last place moisture would form?

About the upper area - Yes, I think your idea could work in well. Here you can see there is room on top of the roof edge to screw down the bottom part of a cabinet frame using 1 x 2's, and I have some flexible flat bar to use up top to create outward pressure across from one side to the other, so I may not need more than that... I ran some pipe foam insulation along that raw edge in the meantime.


About the bed ~ Ease of getting up in the night was the primary reason for having a middle aisle and it is WONDERFUL. But, if we want to, we can pull my bed out just enough to make one big bed. We have a sleeping pad that, under my mattress, brings it close to the same height as his.

I really appreciate your caution and your ideas, thank you and your sketch is cool!

@Cyndi ~ thanks again - I have to dust off my electrical plans pretty soon now. Yikes.
@Karl ~ Thank you! It took me a long time to get up the nerve to post this stuff, but my van pals up here helped convince me that what I'm doing is shareworthy, I guess they'd say. I hope you will give it a try, too.

 

[sassypickins]

STORAGE

Everything kitchen is here. I especially like the shallow drawers on the left because I don't have to scrounge through a jumble of stuff in a big drawer or bin.


In back is a 4-drawer basic tool/hardware unit. Two 3-drawer units next to that hold bath and household supplies, with the two top drawers for toiletries. We take these two in and out of the house. Looks like I need to paint my luxury bucket toilet seat.


To secure all the drawers for travel I need to fasten something to the floor areas either with holes already in or eye hooks in. With matching holes above, I can stretch bungies vertically.

A 12v compressor fridge is on my wish list, but for now it's cooler time. It travels on the floor, along with the water jugs, then sits up on the end of the couch/bed where a couple of folding tables are stored for travel.


Under the bed are several plastic bins for raingear, boots, coats, sweaters, gloves, hats, clothes, spare van parts and auto tools, camp stove, leveling wood, heater, trash can, van jack, antifreeze, emergency food staples and extra buckets. Oil and transmission fluid are in the front door pockets.


Behind the kitchen sink unit is space to slide in tarps, hand saw, axe, shovel, broom, rake, ice scraper, sooty grill wrapped, stuff like that. Future portable solar panels will store here across the back entry.


2 future AGM batteries will store in a vented box at the front of the kitchen unit on the floor and there is room in that area for the other electrical gizmos.

On the big shelf above the cab are linens, a tent, tarps, poles, fishing gear, chairs, an outdoor rug, rope and a gazillion bungies, lanterns, first aid, small batteries and books and maps. I have a small cargo net to secure over this area and I'm thinking of adding another net nearby to throw misc clothes into as we layer and unlayer through the day.

The spare tire is underneath in the back. What I'd really like to have is below deck storage for fuels, oils, tools, outdoor stuff. I'd like to cut away some van siding below floor level, weld in frames, and slide in some locking storage boxes. That is a project I'll have to hire out when I get rich and famous unless I learn to weld between now and then. In the meantime, I might try out a rear hitch cargo rack, or maybe nothing if having everything inside works out ok.

 

[gypsychic]

Sassy-

CL ads for cargo racks:
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pts/4802603005.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pts/4804840072.html
something weird about these 2 but here:
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/spo/4797645885.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/pts/4786172308.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/yam/pts/4779541436.html


OK none of these are the ad that I wanted to show you when I read you last post. I was looking around CL the other day and looking at outside storage options. I saw an ad that looked great but since I'm only doing research now I didn't follow thru. I don't see it anymore so it must have sold. Maybe something above will be to your liking.

As you know already - LOVE the van!

Cheers,

GypsyChic

 

[scooterdog]

Enjoyed your thread, keep 'em coming. A lot of fun ideas.

 

[janncoo]

I hope to see your van at the RTR and incorporate some of your build into our redo Jan

 

[Bdog1]

Don't know if you have Harbor Freight stores near you? Cargo racks can be found for $50.

Loving your van. I have hi-top envy!

 

[akrvbob]

That is just an outstanding job! Maximum organization for minimum cost. Brilliant!
Bob

 

[sassypickins]

Thanks everyone! And gypsychic and bdog, thanks for the leads. I'll see how the coming trip goes with two of us and everything inside. If we find ourselves climbing over stuff to the point it drives me crazy, DH will be glad if I make a beeline to buy a rack somewhere.

 

[Paisley777]

WALL COVERING - SORT OF

You wouldn't want to see a photo of me trying to hold up this 8' long sheet of vinyl, trying to get a screw started, and hoping it was going to be in the right place.  After a few misses, I got one up in a corner and worked my way down the top ridge.  I only guesstimated that it would hang down square enough and after some readjustments, it did.

HAHAHA

I sooooo understand this!  Right there with ya.

Also, I actually really like your idea of the duct tape to cover the screws.  Seriously!  They come on all those styles and colors...
hmmmm...

 

[sassypickins]

    Yep, Paisley, I'd like to say one foot hitched up holding the sheet to the wall was a demonstration of grace and agility, but the reality....

I love the tape!  Where it loosens I just slap it silly.

Sassy

 

[wagoneer]

Will we be having the pleasure of your company at the upcoming RTR? I'm going commando, as far as my non-build, haha my oldest son did not like Chicago and moved back in, not rent free anymore. If you remember the pile of stuff I had last time It will no longer be. I have had it. This year the theme will be Persian wall tent Mint tea hand woven carpets and exotic sounds.
Nice to see you have picked up the thread, you are blowing me away with your skill level. Lucky hubby. Take care have fun